#supportfromyourpeers

The word “stress” is something we constantly hear be it from ourselves or other people. It is a common word used by many people as many of them deal with stress at work. For today's article we will be sharing with you all about stress and how to deal with stress at work. This article is especially useful when it comes to the youths in Singapore because the issues of youth mental health are rising tremendously in Singapore. 

 Everyone that has had a job has at some point faced or felt the pressure of work-related stress. Any job in any industry has their own set of stressful elements, even if the job you are doing is something that you genuinely enjoy. For short term effects, you could experience pressure from having to meet a deadline or to fulfil a challenging task. The part that makes it worse is the long term process, when work stress becomes chronic it can become overwhelming for you to handle which can lead to being harmful towards your physical and emotional health.

It is not a joke, many studies have shown that having too much stress can lead to real physical symptoms such as increased blood pressure, chest pain, trouble sleeping and headaches. It could also lead to anxiety and depression.

Some of the common reasons for work stress are;

Low salary (economic stress)

Large amounts of workload

No opportunity for growth or advancement

Work that is boring and does not require engagement or challenges

Unable to have enough control over decisions related to work

Effects of stress that is not controlled

The stress that you face during work does not just magically disappear the moment you leave your work environment. If the stress continues, it can become worse and affect your mental health and well being.

Having a stressful working environment can lead to headaches, stomachaches and sleep discomforts. Chronic stress can lead to insomnia, high blood pressure and even weaken your immune system. Many people who have large amounts of stress have a way of dealing with it which is usually unhealthy and does not benefit them such as eating unhealthy food, smoking cigarettes or abusing alcohol.

Here are 5 tips on how you can begin your journey on managing your stress;

Managing your stress

Take note of what is causing you to feel stressed

Some actions you can take is to jot down for a week or two to find out what situations initiate you to feel stress and what is your response for it. Take note of your thoughts, surrounding environment, the people around you and how you reacted. Did you increase the volume of your voice ? Leave the room? Take a walk? Writing down all this information can help you to find out if there are any patterns in what is constantly making you stressed and how you react to it.

Develop positive and healthy reactions

Instead of responding with unhealthy responses such as eating fast food or alcohol, try your best to make healthier choices when you can feel the stress beginning to rise. For example, exercising is one of the best ways to deal with stress. Yoga is a common choice, you can take up any form of physical exercise as it is beneficial to you. Also ensure that you plan your time well to make time for your hobbies and favourite activities which could be watching movies, playing games with friends and family. Do your best to set time aside for the important things that bring you joy and pleasure. Another factor is ensuring you get enough sleep, having good quality sleep can play a critical role in managing your stress levels. Start building healthy habits, limit your caffeine intake towards the end of the day and minimise stimulating activities such as using digital devices like your phone, television and computers at night.

Set boundaries for yourself

With the current world we are living in, it is common for people to feel pressure to be available 24 hours a day. Establish boundaries for your work life like not checking on emails from your home in the evening or answering phone calls during your dinner. Even though people have their own set of preferences when it comes to blending their home and work life, setting up some boundaries will help to draw a line between both the worlds of home and work which can help reduce the chances of work-life conflicts and the stress that comes with it. 

Along with this comes setting time for yourself to just take a break and separate yourself from the world around you to recharge. This can help with the effects of chronic stress and burnouts as at the end of the day we are all humans and we need time to replenish ourselves and return back to our calm and stress free self. Many people call this process as “switching off” from your work by ensuring that you spend time away from anything that is related to work. Hence it is important to disconnect from time to time. It can affect your vacations and breaks if you do not set the lines clearly,

Speak with higher authorities at work

It is not easy to deal with stress and there is nothing to be ashamed about if you require some help and support from others. Speaking with your supervisor is a good place to start as your health as an employee is linked back to your productivity in your work, which is why your boss creates an environment which promotes well-being among employees. Do not be afraid and have an open conversation with your supervisor. This does not mean that you list every single complaint you have but instead plan and figure out how to deal with the things and situations that have been causing you excessive stress. 

Additional support

Your trusted friends and family are another outlet for help as well. It may be easier to speak to them which will make it easier for them to come up with solutions for you. If you still feel overwhelmed do not be embarrassed to seek help from a psychologist, talking to them will definitely create a different impact as they have been trained and have experience in dealing with issues as such. Always remember this - support from your peers is 1 of the best emotional support that you will ever get!

Stress is a very dangerous thing that could lead to bad results, however it is perfectly normal to feel stress. Ensure you do your best to find ways to deal with it in ways that benefit you and seek help if needed. With time you will build the mental resilience to deal with daily stress. We hope this article has helped you with some tips on how you can start to manage your stress levels.